Samsung’s 4-inch quantum dot display paves way for OLED successor

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In the world of large display technology the LCD still dominates the market. Plasma has fallen by the wayside due to its high power use, where as OLED holds a lot of promise, but is expensive to make on a large scale and has a limited lifespan.

With that in mind display manufacturers need an alternative in case OLED advancements don’t happen soon enough to make it a viable LCD alternative. Luckily an alternative already exists called quantum dots.

Samsung is one of the first companies to experiment with this new display tech and has recently managed to produce a 4″ full-color quantum dot panel. The reason quantum dots are being used is because they are potentially a far better solution than both LCD and OLED.

Quantum dots have several advantages. When compared to LCD they use a fifth of the power making them automatically a desirable successor. As for OLED comparisons, quantum dots are brighter, will eventually have a longer lifespan, and cost half as much to make. Samsung has also said the new display can work with both glass and flexible plastic. So on all fronts it’s a no-brainer to continue researching and developing the tech for use in displays.

Quantum dot technology is nowhere near ready for market yet in this capacity, but this first display from Samsung certainly holds promise. LG is also working with QD Vision to produce its own quantum dot displays.

We’ve been waiting for OLED to get cheap and large for a long time, but it doesn’t seem to be happening. Sony has now pushed the size of its OLED displays to 25″, but consumers want 32+ and as big as 50″ if possible for the mainstream.

If that does eventually happen it’s going to be years, not months, and prices will remain high for the foreseeable future. Quantum dot tech on the other hand just looks to be full of potential. Cheap, low power, scalable, felxible, and while it can produce large displays it’s also suitable for small cellphone screens too. What’s not to like about this tech?

The only problem at the moment is that the tech is so new. We won’t see it on the market for at least 3 years meaning LCD displays will continue to dominate. That’s fine as long as improvements keep coming. The LCDs of 2011 are head and shoulders above those of even 2 years ago, and it’s not like we are suffering with the quality. We’ve never had it so good for actual screen quality in the home.